Sweet Child of Mine
by sweeet-as-honey
Summary: Ethan realises Honey is upset and wants to help. Honey tells him why she really came to Holby.
1. Chapter 1

_I've been watching the episodes where Honey first comes to the ED and was disappointed when Honey and Noel's storyline seemed to jump from him refusing to believe he was Honey's father to giving her a Christmas present. Much as I loved what I did see, I couldn't help wishing Honey had confided in Ethan._

* * *

Ethan cleared his throat lightly, but Honey didn't seem to hear. She was standing with her back to Ethan, looking at something on the wall behind her. This surprised Ethan slightly as Honey was usually watching out for customers and there seemed nothing extraordinary on the wall to command such avid attention.

"Honey?" he said softly, but Honey didn't seem to hear that either.

Ethan looked at her more closely and his curiosity was almost at once replaced by anxiety. There was something about the droop of her shoulders that suggested all was not well. The feeling only intensified when he heard Honey sniff.

Ethan tentatively reached across the counter and touched her arm. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"Ethan?" Honey swung round to face him. Her face was streaked with tears, but it was the expression in her eyes that tugged at Ethan's heard. She looked lost. Desolate, even.

Ethan could hardly bear it. He couldn't imagine what could have happened to upset the normally-cheerful barista so much. He was also surprised and very disturbed to discover he rather wanted to kill whoever was responsible.

Ethan picked up a paper napkin from the box on the counter and held it out to her. "Here."

Honey took it and started to dry her tears. "Thanks," she whispered.

"You're welcome," said Ethan. He wondered if he should go and give her a moment alone, but he didn't want to leave her when she was so upset.

She was still crying, he realised, as her big, brown eyes welled with fresh tears. Ethan stared at her, his concern almost a physical pain.

"Is there anything I can do?" said Ethan. "Would you like me to get someone for you? Louise wasn't at her desk when I passed just now, but Noel's there." He'd noticed Honey spent a lot of time hanging round the reception desk and assumed they were her closest friends.

It seemed to be the wrong thing to say. Honey's whole face seemed to quiver. Then she turned away and burst into loud sobs that tore at Ethan's heart even more.

All he wanted to do was hug her, but he didn't know how to get behind the counter. He thought of asking her, but Honey was crying harder and harder and Ethan couldn't think about anything else. In the end, he pulled himself up onto the counter, climbed over it in a clumsy and undignified manner, and finally dropped down beside Honey.

Now he was there, he wasn't quite sure what to do, but Honey took that decision out of his hands when she threw her arms around him.

Ethan froze for a moment, but even he could work out what needed to be done. He put his arms around Honey and stroked her hair. "It's okay, Honey. It's okay. Well, no. Obviously, it's not okay. But it will be. I'm sure it will be."

When Honey's sobs began to die down, Ethan decided he probably wasn't doing anything too badly wrong, but that didn't mean he had any idea of what to do next.

"Ethan, put her down and let her do her work," said a familiar voice. "I'd like my usual, please, Honey."

Ethan faced his brother over Honey's head. "Honey is on her break, Caleb. Please come back later."

"How much later?" said Cal. "My break won't last forever, you know." He gave an infuriating smile. "You should have told me you were after Honey. I'd have given you some tips."

Ethan glared at him. "I hardly think I need any." He meant that he didn't need tips because Honey wasn't his girlfriend and wasn't ever likely to be, but he realised it could be interpreted as a declaration that he didn't need any because he already had Honey in his arms.

He _really_ hoped Honey didn't interpret it in that way.

Cal sighed. "If you're that inseparable, you could always make the coffee together."

Honey gave a tiny sob and whispered into Ethan's ear. "Please make him go away."

Cal frowned slightly. His eyes met Ethan's in an expression of belated concern. "Is there something wrong?"

"Everything's fine," said Ethan. "We just aren't making coffee at the moment. We have other priorities."

"Fine! I'll just die of thirst and fall asleep in Resus!" said Cal.

"I don't think you're likely to do it in that order," said Ethan.

Cal made a sound of frustration and walked off.

Honey stayed in Ethan's arms for a bit longer, then she lifted her head from his shoulder. "Thanks for getting rid of him."

"It was my pleasure," said Ethan. Shyly, he asked: "Would you like to tell me what's wrong?"

Honey sniffed. "It doesn't matter."

"It matters to you," said Ethan. "So it matters to me too. We can always go somewhere else if you don't want to be bothered by customers. Shall we go to the staff room?"

Honey looked a bit panicky, but only for a moment. "Cal might be there. Making his own coffee."

"Yes. That's true," said Ethan. He considered the on-call room, but was worried that suggestion might sound untoward. "Shall we go outside?"

"Okay," said Honey after a moment or two. She scrubbed her face dry and found some sunglasses in her bag.

"Um, it's not actually sunny," said Ethan.

Honey put them on. "I don't want everyone to see I've been crying, do I?"

"No. Of course not," said Ethan.

* * *

They found a bench and sat together. Ethan felt nervous and unsure of himself, but this was nothing unusual.

Honey was staring down into her lap and picking at her nail varnish. As Ethan watched, a tear snaked out from behind her sunglasses and ran down her cheek.

Ethan gave her one of the napkins he'd brought with him. "Why don't you start from the beginning and tell me everything that happened in your own time."

He mentally cringed at the clichés. Judging from the way Honey burst into tears again, she hadn't thought much of them either.

"I told Noel he was my dad!" she wailed.

"Oh," said Ethan. "And what did he say?"

"He said it wasn't funny and walked off!"

Ethan patted her shoulder a couple of times. "Don't worry. Sometimes a joke just falls flat. It happens to me all the time. I'm sure everything will be fine when you see Noel again."

"It wasn't a joke!" sobbed Honey. She put her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder. "I told Noel he was my dad and he just looked at me and walked away!"

He patted her back in a vague, stunned sort of way. "So you mean… Noel really is your dad?"

"How many times do I have to say it, Ethan?"

"But… how?" Ethan said blankly.

"How do you think?" said Honey. "He met my mum and they danced and then this stork flew out of the sky and dumped a baby in her arms and that was me."

Ethan decided this was a perfectly reasonable answer to a very stupid question. "I see. Right. So, Noel's your dad. Okay. Have you seen him today?"

"I hoped he might come and see me," sniffed Honey. "He usually comes to get a coffee in the morning. But he didn't and then Louise came and she told me he didn't want anything. I just felt… I don't know, Ethan. I've lost the honey and I don't think I'll ever find it again."

"Perhaps he just needs more time to come to terms with it," said Ethan. "It must have been a big shock to him, discovering he had a daughter. Perhaps if you give him a little more time…"

"But how much time?" said Honey. She lifted her head from Ethan's shoulder and removed her sunglasses so she could wipe her eyes. "How much time do I wait before I decide he isn't interested and it's all been for nothing?"

Ethan looked at her helplessly. He had to admit he'd no idea. "Could you go and talk to him?"

Honey shook her head emphatically. "I couldn't, Ethan. Not after last night and today. I'm usually not scared of facing new situations and difficult people. I came up here, didn't I, not knowing anyone? But if he does that to me again: if he walks away from me…"

Ethan rubbed her shoulder gently as more tears leaked out. "Perhaps there's someone else who could speak to him for you."

Honey's face filled with sudden hope. "Would you, Ethan? Would you really?"

"Oh, I didn't mean…" Ethan stopped. Her eyes were sparkling and not with tears this time "Well, of course I will if you really think you'd like me to, but I'm afraid I'm not the right sort of person for that at all. I always say the wrong thing. I wouldn't want to make things worse."

"You could never make things worse!" said Honey. "He'd listen to you, Ethan. I know he would. You're always so sweet and you understand things and no-one could take offence from anything you say."

Ethan wasn't at all sure about that, but he had to admit it was nice hearing it. "Oh… well, if you're sure I'm the right man for the job, Honey, I'll do my best. I just can't promise I'll be very successful."

Honey threw her arms around him. "Thank you, Ethan. My knight in shining armour!"

"I think you might be getting me confused with my brother," said Ethan.

"No," said Honey, her eyes fixed on his. "I'm not."


	2. Chapter 2

**ETWentHome** , thank you for your review. I'm really glad you liked the first chapter. I thought something like this should have happened too. It seemed a shame that such a big moment was kind of skipped over and it would have made a good opportunity for Ethan and Honey to bond. I couldn't write a story without putting Cal in it!

 **CBloom2** , thank you so much - that's a very big compliment! I'm really happy you liked it. I wish it had happened in an episode, but I suppose then I wouldn't have had the fun of writing it! That sounds so nice, hearing Ethan's voice in your head. I wish I could hear him...

 **Tato Potato** , I'm really sorry, but Ethan and Honey won't get together in this story. I think you might be disappointed with this chapter. But I am thinking about writing a story where they are together. Thank you for your review.

 **Tanith Panic** , I hope Cal would have been more sympathetic if Ethan hadn't tried to cover up the fact that something was wrong, but Cal probably doesn't realise it's possible to put your arms around a girl without attempting to seduce her! But he does behave a little bit better in this chapter. Thank you for your review!

* * *

Ethan was fairly sure he had been more terrified than he was now. He'd taken numerous exams; he'd worked with Connie Beauchamp for several months; and he'd seen enough naked girls coming out of Cal's bedroom to have blinded him permanently, if he hadn't started taking the precaution of forgetting to put his glasses on.

But as he approached the reception desk, having seen a much calmer and more hopeful Honey back to her counter, Ethan had trouble believing he'd ever been quite this scared.

He walked up to the reception desk. Noel was frowning at something on the computer while Louise was speaking on the phone. She glared at Ethan and turned her back slightly, but that was all right. Ethan wasn't here to speak to her.

He coughed to attract Noel's attention.

"Oh, hey, Ethan!" Noel gave him a smile of welcome. "What can I do for… are you okay?"

Ethan could only assume his complete and total panic was showing on his face. "I was wondering if we might have a chat, Noel," he said, and nearly cringed at how unnatural his voice sounded.

Noel looked surprised. He opened his mouth to speak, but Louise, who had just put the phone down, got there first.

"I warned you about what would happen if you didn't share those cookies," she said self-righteously.

"Um, no… it isn't about cookies," said Ethan.

"Sure we can have a chat, Ethan," said Noel easily. He nodded towards Louise. "I've just got to ask the boss here if it's convenient."

Louise made a big show of consulting her watch. "Five minutes, Noel. Not a second more."

Noel stood up and smiled at Ethan. Ethan looked around the ED, but there seemed to be no obvious place for upbraiding the receptionist about his parenting skills.

"Shall we go outside?" he said at last.

"Sure," said Noel, and they went outside, where Noel chose the exact bench that Ethan had been sharing with his daughter a few minutes before.

His daughter… much as Ethan deplored Noel's reaction to Honey's announcement, he could see that the idea would take a bit of getting used to.

"What's up?" said Noel.

Ethan decided that even if there was a way of leading up to the subject carefully, he would only mess it up. "It's about Honey," she said.

The smile faded from Noel's face and he visibly tensed. "So, she's been telling the whole ED about me, has she?"

"No, she's only told me and she was quite reluctant about doing that," said Ethan. "I went to get a coffee and she was crying so I asked her what was wrong. She's very upset."

"And how do you think I feel?" burst out Noel.

Ethan wondered if this was a mistake. "Well, I'm sure it was a very big shock for you-"

Noel continued as though Ethan hadn't spoken. "Too right it's a big shock! Having something like that sprung on me. Finding out I had a kid. Finding out I was too late to see her grow up..."

"I'm sure it must be very difficult for you," said Ethan carefully. "I really can't imagine how it must feel. But I've seen how Honey feels and she really is devastated. The only reason she came to Holby was to meet you. She left the place she called home and came all this way; she even managed to get a job in the hospital where her father worked. All because she wanted to know you."

For a horrible moment, he thought Noel might hit him, but then the anger drained from the receptionist's face. "She talked to me about her dad once. How she doesn't know him; how she always wanted to find him. I had no idea she was meant me. But what I could see was that she'd built him up into some big ideal. Something any guy was going to struggle to live up to. And I felt worried for her; worried he wouldn't measure up." His eyes met Ethan's: there were many emotions in them but perhaps the strongest was fear.

"I think in that situation it's natural to idealise someone," said Ethan, feeling more uncomfortable than ever, but knowing he had no choice but to continue. "But the fact she's chosen to tell you she's your daughter means you do measure up. She got to know you before she told you so she knows what you're like. If she didn't like you, she didn't have to say anything. But she wanted to tell you."

Noel looked down at himself and his mouth twisted. "But look at me. How am I equipped to be a dad? Especially to someone like Honey. I'm just some old middle-aged guy who's never achieved anything. I don't even have a proper home."

"That doesn't matter," said Ethan. "I really don't think Honey cares about things like that. You know what she's like. All she wants is to help people and brighten up their day a bit – and that's a quality you share."

A smile spread across Noel's face. "I don't know about me, but Honey is like that. Maybe she's not the sharpest, but that doesn't matter to me. She's always got a smile on her face; always got a kind word. Any dad would be proud to have a daughter like Honey."

Ethan nodded and then said hesitantly: "Maybe you should tell Honey that?"

Noel was silent, but Ethan knew he was thinking and waited till he was ready to speak.

"I wanted to tell her today," admitted Noel. "I spent most of the night lying awake; thinking about her. Cursing myself for the way I reacted. So this morning, I thought I'd go and get a coffee and then suggest going somewhere for a talk."

"But you changed your mind," said Ethan. He could relate to that a little bit – though with potential girlfriends rather than daughters. In that situation, Ethan always changed his mind.

"I couldn't do it," said Noel with a helpless shrug. "Not after the way I'd treated her. She gave me my chance. I blew it. I didn't think she'd want to see me again after that."

"I know that certain situations can be daunting," said Ethan. "I feel like that all the time. But Honey's your daughter, Noel, and she's everything you said she was and more besides. She's made all this effort to see you: moved all the way across the country where she knows no-one, all because of you. She's not going to give up on you that easily and I really hope you won't give up on her. I can understand that you're worried, but there's really no need. She just wants her dad, Noel. And that's you."

Noel didn't say anything for a while. The silence was torture for Ethan: he had no idea what Noel might say. But all he could do was wait - just as Honey had been waiting. Ethan felt his chest tightening as he thought how Honey must be feeling right now. Trusting him to do the right thing.

Ethan still had no idea if he'd done the right thing or not.

"You're right," Noel said at last. "I can't just leave things as they are. I'll go and speak to her now."

Ethan couldn't describe the relief he felt. He could hardly put it into words. "I'm so glad, Noel," was all he said, and could only hope Noel knew how much he meant it.

"I'm not saying I'm not scared to death," said Noel, "but if a guy like you – not that there's anything wrong with you, but let's say you're on the shy side – has the guts to walk up to me and upbraid me for being a bad father, I should be able to find the courage to speak to my own daughter."

Ethan smiled. "I would never have been able to do it if it hadn't meant so much to Honey. I'd have been much too scared."

"But you did it," said Noel. "And I'm glad my daughter…. my _daughter_!... has someone like you looking out for her." He clapped Ethan on the shoulder and then held out his hand for Ethan to shake. "Thank you."

* * *

Ethan stood in the middle of the ED, all his patients forgotten as he focused on two figures walking towards him: a young girl holding on to her father's arm. It looked a bit awkward as they probably hadn't done it before, but he was looking down at her affectionately and she was smiling as though Christmas was here already.

"Ethan?" A hand descended on his shoulder and he heard Cal's anxious voice. "Are you okay?"

There was a lump in Ethan's throat: he couldn't say anything. All he could do was watch Noel and Honey – though even that was getting difficult now his eyes were filling with tears.

He heard Cal gasp. "What, seriously? She could have had you and she… he's old enough to be her dad!"

Ethan gave a shaky laugh. "That is rather the point, Caleb."

Cal was shaking his head. "I knew you were clueless, Nibbles, but you really have messed up this time." He glanced at Ethan again and his voice changed. "It won't last. It can't last. You can win her back. I'll help you." He put his arm around Ethan's shoulders. "We'll sort this out."

Ethan said nothing. He was watching Honey. She'd seemed unaware of anything but her dad, but as her eyes met Ethan's, she suddenly broke away from Noel and ran over and gave Ethan a hug. Ethan made a startled sound and decided he'd better hug her back.

Honey's eyes, not for the first time that day, were brimming with tears, but Ethan knew from her smile that this time, there was no need to worry.

"Thank you, Ethan," she said simply and kissed his cheek.

"Oh. Um. You're welcome," said Ethan. "More than welcome. Anytime."

She went back to her father and took his arm again. Noel was smiling at Ethan. "Thanks." He looked like he wanted to say more, but there was no need. Ethan understood.

Cal was looking confused now. "What was that all about? Is she with him or not? What's going on?"

Ethan smiled as Noel and Honey made their way to the exit, arm in arm once more.

They looked more comfortable with every step.


End file.
